Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Alliance HealthCare Services acquires certain radiation therapy assets from Arkansas Cancer Center

Alliance HealthCare Services, Inc.), a leading national provider of outpatient diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy services, announced the acquisition of certain radiation therapy assets from Arkansas Cancer Center, P.A. The purchase price is expected to total approximately $9 million in cash and assumed indebtedness.

12 Jul 2010

GOP questions Berwick's ties to industry

The Hill reports that Republicans are charging the Obama administration with evading questions on Dr. Donald Berwick's ties to the health care industry. President Barack Obama used a recess appointment this week to install Berwick as head of the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid after key Republicans had raised concerns about Berwick's views.

12 Jul 2010

Axelrod defends recess appointment of Berwick to head Medicare

"This morning on ABC News' 'This Week,' Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod insisted that President Obama's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to be the administrator of The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was simply 'too important' to wait for a Congressional hearing" (7/11).

12 Jul 2010

Multimedia talking touchscreens help end health disparities in underserved populations

Multimedia talking touchscreens, housed in computer kiosks at clinics and hospitals, are helping researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and clinicians at local health care centers enhance patient-centered care for patients with diverse language, literacy and computer skills.

12 Jul 2010

Medicaid: Generic drugs save money, dental care not always accessible

"When blockbuster drugs lose their patent protection, state Medicaid programs can save millions of dollars by switching patients to cheaper, generic versions of the medications." But, while some states have policies to shift people quickly to generics, others require permission from patients. "A new study tracking these policies concludes that some states, including Massachusetts, are quicker than others to bring down the costs of prescription drugs once alternatives are available. The difference has implications for expanding Medicaid coverage to more people after the national health care overhaul takes effect" (Cooney, 7/8).

12 Jul 2010

Diabetes reform plans do not please the AMA

In a bid to reform the way long term illnesses like diabetes are managed in Australia, the federal government announced a $436 million scheme to be introduced from 2012.

11 Jul 2010

Sebelius pushing insurance companies to help get more Americans covered

In an interview with Reuters, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "said she is pushing [insurance] companies to help people gain insurance in the gap between now and 2014. That is when the healthcare law President Barack Obama signed in March mandates extensive changes. Sebelius struck a cooperative tone after publicly chastising insurers for high rate hikes ... and after repeatedly calling them to the White House for highly publicized talks. A more congenial relationship with insurers could help keep the major overhaul of the healthcare system on track and loosen strained relations between Democrats and big business ahead of the November midterm elections" (Richwine, 7/8).

9 Jul 2010

News roundup: NYC program to help poor, elderly with insurance gets cut; Colo. promotes wellness programs for small businesses

A program that for a decade helped New York City's poor and elderly navigate their way through insurance problems — and that became a model for a similar federal program — has become a casualty of city budget cuts, an administrator of the program said on Thursday. The $4 million program sent ombudsmen to 25 social service agencies across the city.

9 Jul 2010

HHS proposes stricter patient privacy rules

New rules have been proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services to stregthen patient privacy protections.

9 Jul 2010

Florbetaben PET tracer data to be presented at Alzheimer's Association ICAD 2010

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that data on the company's investigational PET amyloid imaging tracer Florbetaben (BAY 94-9172) will be presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 in Honolulu July 10 – 15.

9 Jul 2010

Research roundup: Improving hospital processes can improve care; E-mailing the doctor; Medicaid savings with generic drugs

Public Reporting On Hospital Process Improvements Is Linked To Better Patient Outcomes - This study analyzed "data from 3,476 acute care, nonfederal U.S. hospitals that publicly reported quality information on the CMS Hospital Compare Web site from 2004 through 2006" and "evaluated the hospitals' performance every six months during the study period, using the ten original measures from Hospital Compare."

9 Jul 2010

SurModics to present four scientific posters on drug delivery technologies at CRS Annual Meeting

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry, is participating at the 37th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Controlled Release Society, July 10-14, 2010 in Portland, Oregon (booth #521).

9 Jul 2010

OPMEDIC GROUP third-quarter revenue up 9% to $3.899 million

OPMEDIC GROUP Inc., a healthcare-related company in fertility, laboratories and surgeries providing services and facilities to patients and surgeons, is pleased to announce financial results for the third quarter ended May 31, 2010.

9 Jul 2010

Initiatives launched to increase transparency, strengthen oversight in health care group purchasing industry

The Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative, an organization dedicated to promoting the highest ethical standards and practices in the health care group purchasing industry, today announced the launch of two major initiatives to further increase transparency and strengthen oversight in the health care group purchasing industry.

9 Jul 2010

Protectus Medical Devices receives Notice of Allowance for Safety Syringe

Protectus Medical Devices, Inc., developer and marketer of innovative safety medical devices, announced today it has received Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office on its patent application describing a spring-activated, automatic, self-sheathing Safety Syringe, a major step toward it becoming the gold standard in safety syringe devices.

9 Jul 2010

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Graduation ceremonies will be held Saturday, July 10th in Lukasa for 15 Zambian health care professionals from several districts throughout the country who have completed an educational training program administered by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. This will enable the graduates to train classes of HIV Medics to work in the country's growing fight against HIV/AIDS.

9 Jul 2010

Phase II trial results of TB-402 presented at International Congress on Thrombosis

BioInvent International AB and ThromboGenics NV announce that the positive results from a Phase II trial of TB-402 (Anti-Factor VIII antibody) were presented at the 21st International Congress on Thrombosis in Milan, Italy yesterday. TB-402 is a novel, long acting anticoagulant that is being developed as a single injection for the prevention of venous thromboembolism following orthopaedic surgery.

9 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 9, 2010

Today's health policy headlines include news about some little-known health reform provisions and how the Obama administration is using technology to help consumers navigate changes resulting from the health overhaul.

9 Jul 2010

HIGPA issues statement on adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures

Curtis Rooney, President of the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association, today issued the following statement on the adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures by the Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative. The new initiatives were developed earlier this year with input from leading ethicists and Congressional staff at the fifth annual HGPII Best Practices Forum in Washington, D.C., and officially adopted this week.

9 Jul 2010

Fromer-GPF Patient Journey launched to help primary care physicians improve patient care

Group Practice Forum, an independent network of medical professionals, today announced the official launch of the Fromer-GPF Patient Journey, a proprietary workflow solution designed to provide primary care physicians with simple solutions to improve patient care. The Journey was developed by the Executive Medical Director of GPF, Len Fromer, M.D., FAAFP, who also serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine and Western University of Health Sciences.

9 Jul 2010

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Alliance HealthCare Services acquires certain radiation therapy assets from Arkansas Cancer Center

GOP questions Berwick's ties to industry

Axelrod defends recess appointment of Berwick to head Medicare

Multimedia talking touchscreens help end health disparities in underserved populations

Medicaid: Generic drugs save money, dental care not always accessible

Diabetes reform plans do not please the AMA

Sebelius pushing insurance companies to help get more Americans covered

News roundup: NYC program to help poor, elderly with insurance gets cut; Colo. promotes wellness programs for small businesses

HHS proposes stricter patient privacy rules

Florbetaben PET tracer data to be presented at Alzheimer's Association ICAD 2010

Research roundup: Improving hospital processes can improve care; E-mailing the doctor; Medicaid savings with generic drugs

SurModics to present four scientific posters on drug delivery technologies at CRS Annual Meeting

OPMEDIC GROUP third-quarter revenue up 9% to $3.899 million

Initiatives launched to increase transparency, strengthen oversight in health care group purchasing industry

Protectus Medical Devices receives Notice of Allowance for Safety Syringe

AHF: 15 Zambian health care professionals to train HIV Medics

Phase II trial results of TB-402 presented at International Congress on Thrombosis

First Edition: July 9, 2010

HIGPA issues statement on adoption of aggressive new healthcare transparency and oversight measures

Fromer-GPF Patient Journey launched to help primary care physicians improve patient care

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

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Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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